Table 2.

Comparison of NHS with US healthcare system

	NHS 1948-2000	US healthcare system	New NHS 2001
Coverage	Universal	Voluntary insurance; 55 million people uninsured	Universal*
Unit of risk	District health authority	Provider	Primary care trust/provider
Basis of resource allocation	Geographical population	Enrollees	Practice lists
Method of resource allocation	Population weighted capitation	Risk adjusted; individual capitation	Capitation based on practice lists
Turnover	Stable	50% annually in some health maintenance organisations	Not known
Ownership	Mainly public (except GP owned premises)	For-profit corporations; some public	For-profit corporations, public ownership, GP owned premises
Funding sources	Central taxation 90%; patient charges 2%	Private health insurance; state funding; federal funding; user charges	Central taxation; user charges; local taxation

^*Personal use is paid for. NHS care has been and is being redefined, particularly in rehabilitation, intermediate care, and long term care so that it is no longer universal.